L-R: Rob Myers, Pete Tsirimbis, Rob Nydam, Don Tetrault, and CK Mayor Darrin Canniff.
Some familiar names are helping to revitalize downtown Chatham.
Rob Myers and Don Tetrault, who make up 2/3 of the new ownership of the former Navistar property, are working to redevelop the Downtown Chatham Centre.
The pair are joined by Jessica and Pete Tsirimbis, who own the Retro Suites Hotel; Ron Nydam, president of JP Contractors; and former Cadillac Fairview president and real estate developer Jim Bullock.
“I am excited to be part of this challenge and opportunity” Myers says. “I truly believe that anything is possible and that with the group of partners we have working on this project great things will continue to happen in downtown Chatham.”
Nydam has been elected president of what he calls their “mall endeavour” and says the sale only closed two weeks ago.
“We’ve got ideas, we’ve got some preliminary drawings of what could happen, but we have nothing definite. Our idea is to turn this into some kind of destination district and that involves making sure that we take every idea seriously and see what works and what doesn’t.”
Nydam says he believes the idea of an indoor shopping mall no longer works in a downtown centre, and whatever they create needs to serve the entire community for the next 50 years.
The mall was built in 1982. The property has seen several ownership and management changes over the last few years, most recently being taken over by BDO Canada under the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act.
“This just feels natural and the next logical step to developing CK,” Myers says. “Just like at Navistar, we aim to create jobs, stimulate the local economy, and bring new life to a beautiful core.”
The new owners say that while they’re exploring a number of possibilities, they’re also looking for input from the community on how to restore the mall to a prominent place in the downtown core.
